Maison Tardieu Laurent - Hermitage 2001

The vintage

The vines are asleep and restore their potential.
The temperatures are mild, and the rains heavy : almost twice as much as the average quantity of water.
Rather warm and sunny, March initiates the vegetative cycle of the vine, which seems to portend an early vintage. But, then, the coolness of April slows the pace down. The vines flower without a hitch.
Quick - it lasted between 8 and 10 days. No coulure, but on some Grenache aged over 40 years. The prospect of a beautiful crop !
Very warm, July and August have contributed to a good maturing of the berries. Two big thunderstorms have helped the berries not to suffer from dryness. In August, the heat wave has had a dramatic impact on the evolution of the sugar in the berries. Still, the maturity of the skin had not been reached. As this maturité pelliculaire is essential in terms of colour, aromas, tannins, it was more than urgent… to wait !
Not one drop of water since July 15th ! And most windy conditions : for 11 days the speed of the wind was over 50 km/h ! It had not been the case for thirty years.
In the northern Rhône, the cool temperatures of September have slowed down the maturing of the berries. The Phenolic maturity has come slowly but surely. It was essential to wait. The experience and wisdom of the Vigneron have been two key points !

Terroir

Piérelles.

Ageing

New barrels.